Apparatus for preventing overwinding at collieries and mines.



I w. H. ASHTON. APPARATUS FOR PREVENTING OVERWINDING AT COLLIERIES AND MINES.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

Patented May16, 1916.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 17. I912- ,awgm

Yflgesses THE COLUMBIA PLANOORAPH 10., WASHINGTON, 07 c w. HIASHTONl APPARATUS FOR PREVENTING OVERWINDING AT COLLIERIES AND MINES;

APPLICATION FILED DEC.17,I912. 1,183,057. I Patented May16, 1916.

ooo

V, A i IVE: fl? YZZH BBEEB w. H. ASHTON.

APPARATUS FOR PREVENTlNG OVERWINDING AT COLL'IERIES AND MINES. APPLICATION FILED DEC-.17. x912.

1,183,057, Patented May'16,1916

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

VII-T5555 A A BE -flu? THE COLUMBIA FLANOGRAPH 60.. WASHINGTON, D. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT onnron.

WILLIAM HENRY ASHTON, OF WIGAN, ENGLAND.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 16, 1916.

Application filed December 17, 1912. Serial No. 737,333.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM HENRY ASH- TON, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at \Vigan, in the county of Lancaster, in the Kingdom of England, have invented certain .new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Preventing Over winding at Collieries and Mines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in apparatus for preventing overwinding in mines and the like of the type in which at a given point in the course of the cage the latter operates to control cams to operate the closing of the throttle of the winding engine or to apply the brake.

According to the present invention, the same stop member which is moved into contact with the treadle for shutting off the steam or applying the brake at a predetermined point of the wind, is moved nearer to the treadle by a governor so that the steam is shut off at an earlier point from the end of the wind whenever the speed is excessive.

A rotary shaft is for instance arranged to be turned at a predetermined position in the wind to operate a beaked cam to bring it into contact with a treadle on the operating lever for the brake. In the construction for instance in which 'beaked cams are used, according to the present invention there is arranged a connection between the beaked cam and the shaft whereby the angular position of this latter relatively to the shaft may be altered by the operation of a governor. 1 V

The present invention is more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of the apparatus, Fig. 2, an end elevation thereof, Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the apparatus looking-in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 2, Fig. 4, a plan View, and Fig. 5, a detail view of the shaft that works the beak cams,

. showing how the latter are adjusted by the governor, Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the emergency device which may be used in con nection with the present invention.

According to the present invention, I provide the usual rope or chain connected at one end to the lever of a throttle valve or v the brake or both,; through the medium of some suitable mechanism, and at the other to a bar 1 mounted in the framework 2 of my apparatus, which is engaged by a suitable catch or pawl 3, so as to hold the bar in position in the framework, and keep the rope in tension, and consequently the throttle valve open. A weight in connection with the rope, or a spring 4 in connection with this bar 1, causes the bar to spring forward on the disengagement of the catch 3 by a hand or foot lever 5, or by the mechanism hereinafter described, and enables the throttle valve to close through the medium of some suitable mechanism. 7

J ournaled in bearings longitudinal of the framework, and driven by the engine or winding drum, is a rotary screw threaded shaft 8, on which is mounted a nut 9, the pitch of the screw being such, that the nut travels from near one end of the shaft 8 to near the other, during a traverse of the cage between two given points. This nut 9 which is prevented from rotating by means ofv a bar 10 along which it slides, carries fingers 11 projecting opposite ways, so that when the nut approaches one end of its 7 travel, it strikes certain mechanism, which liberates the catch or pawl 3 from engagement with the catch bar 1, and so enables the throttle to close.,

J ournaled transversely in the framework is an oscillatory shaft 12 on which are sleeved and from which project in opposite directions two beaked cams 13, 14, this oscillatory shaft 12 being adapted to rock the beaked cams in one direction or the other. Secured to the endof this shaft is a pinion 15, which gears into a longitudinally movable; toothed rack bar 16 to each end of which is coupled an arm 17, the free end of each arm forming a tappet, which is operated by the finger 11 on the nut, so that when the nut is approaching one end of its travel, one of these fingers 11 strikes against onc of the tappets, 17, thus sliding the rack 16 longitudinally, which by means of the pinion 15 rocks the beaked earns 13, 14, in one direction; or when the nut 9' is approaching the other end of its'travel, the other finger'll strikes against the other tappet 17 thus rocking the beaked cams in the other direction.

Below the shaft'12 from which the beaked cams 13, 14, project, is a transverse spindle 18 to which is secured a pair of rocking levers '19, 20, one immediately below each beaked cam 13, 14. One end of one of these rocking levers is coupled by a connecting ables the engine to be restarted.

rod 21 to the catch 3, that is adapted to hold or release the sliding catch bar 1, while the opposite end of the other rocking lever 20 is also coupled by a connecting rod to the said catch. The free end of each lever 19, 20, has pivoted to it a treadle member or the like 23 weighted and provided with a shoulder 2% which keeps it projecting out laterally from its lever, while forming no obstruction to its giving upwardly, there being a treadle member 23 on each side of the beaked cam shaft, 12, so that one or other of the beaks 13, 1%, can come against one or other of the treadles 23 and depress them, thus raising the catch 3 and so liberating the catch bar 1. The surfaces of these treadle members 23 against which the beaks 13, 14, strike, are conside ably wider than the beaks 13, 14, themselves, for the purpose to be hereafter described. A brake mechanism or stopping gear is employed for cooperating with the cage whereby the cage will be prevented from moving too far in either direction and also prevented from moving at too great a speed as will be here inafter more fully described.

The mode of operation of the foregoing portion of the apparatus is as follows: When the cage is approaching say near the top of the shaft, the nut 9 is approaching one end of the screw 8, (the gearing being so proportioned and arranged that such will be the case), and its finger 11 strikes the tappet 17 which slides tne rack bar 16 and so rocks the beaked cams 13 and 1% in one direction, until one of them strikes against one of the treadle members and depresses it, thus raising the catch 3 which holds the catch bar 1. The catch bar 1 is thus disenengaged, and it and the rope are released so as to shut off steam, and actuate the brake mechanism or stopping gear by applying the brake 31 caused by the bar 1 releasing the stirrup 35 which is coupled to the brake lever 36, thus causing the brake 3-1 to be brought against the fly wheel 37 by the pull of the spring 33; this bringing the cage to a standstill. To start theengine again, the catch bar 1 is slid back longitudinally so that its catch 3 will automatically engage it, and the treadle members 23 rise up, with the falling down of the catch. This enl/Vhen the cage approaches say the bottom of the shaft, the nut 9 is approaching the other end of the screw 8, so that its other linger 11 strikes the other tappet, 17, which slides the rack bar 16 back again and so rocks the beaked cams 13, 14, in the other direction until one of them strikes the other treadle member 23 and depresses the said member. This operation also acts to disengage the catch 3 from the catch bar 1, and thus whichever way the cage travels, the throttle valve is closed automatically as the cage approaches the top and bottom of the shaft. The treadle members 23 being pivoted on their levers 19, 20, and held in position by the shoulder 24:, the beaked cams can easily push the treadle members momentarily upward,

and so slip past them when being rocked back. Furthermore, the beaked cams 13,- 1%, can be jointed at their beaks on pivot pins 25, so that the beaks 13 and 14: themselves will giveduring their backward or idle stroke, but straighten themselves out and hold rigid, when operating on a treadle member 23 to depress it.

lVhen a governor is. provided, the beaked cams can be arranged so as to be adjustable independently of their shaft 12, so as to control the point in the cages travel that the beaks 13, 14, shall strike the treadle members 23, for which purpose the shaft 12 is prdvided with spiral or helical grooves 26 into which pins or cotters on the boss 27 of each beaked cam 13, 1-1, enters. If therefore the shaft 12 be given an axial 2'. c. a longitudinal movement, the cams 13, 14, will be turned a little on their axes to cause their beaks to approach nearer to the treadle members 23, or if the shaft be moved axially in the other direction, the cams 13, 14-, recede from the treadle members 23. The beaked cams, 13, 11, are spaced apart by sleeves 28- and a fork 29 having a lateral movement straddles the shaft 12, this fork being connected to the governor 30 so that when the governor balls rise, this form moves the shaft 12 axially, z'. e. transversely of the framework. This causes the beaked cams 13, 11, by means of the helical grooves 26, to approach nearer to the treadle 1118111- bers 23 and thus depress the latter at an earlier stage than would be the case if the engine is traveling at normal speed, thus shutting off steam at a somewhat earlier stage in the travel of the cage. hen however the governor balls fall, the fork, 29 moves the beaked cams 13, 14, back again to their former position. The governor shaft 31 may be driven by chain 32 and gear 33 from the rotary screw threaded shaft 8.

The pinion 15 is made wider than the rack 16, so that it will always remain in gear therewith. The treadle members 23 are secured to upturned ends of the rocking levers 19, 20, and their tread portions are ointed in such manner that they will freely give upward, but be held rigid when the beaked cam presses down against them. The treadle members do not need balancing, as their own weight will allow them to fall: back into position when the beaked cams reverse. This arrangement enables. the posifurthermore two such treadle members may be used one above the other on each rocking lever. The object of this is as follows: In the event of the engineman not reversing the engine, to make the reverse travel of cage after it has reached the limit between two given points, an accident might occur, because when the engine has been stopped by the beaked cam pushing down the treadle, there is nothing to stop the engine being restarted again in the same direction as soon as the catch bar has been reengaged by the catch. The supplemental treadle member 40 however will guard against this, because if the engine make any further movement in the same direction, the beaked cam will strike against the supplemental treadle 40 and so act to again disengage the catch 3 from the catch bar 1. This lower treadle member 40 is adjusted, so that the beaked cam is just touching it, when the cage has reached its correct stopping place.

The governor when provided may be utilized to prevent overspeeding, that is stop the engine when the cage at any point between the top and bottom of the shaft is going beyond its given safe speed. This emergency device which may be used or not as desired, is shown in Fig. 6 which is a cross section through the governor rod 29. When the governor balls rise to a certain position due to the cage traveling beyond the safe speed limit, the rod 29 strikes the trip lever 42, the action of which is to liberate the weighted drop lever 43 which thereupon falls upon and depresses the foot lever 5, and so liberates the catch or pawl 3 from engagement with the catch bar 1, and so enables the throttle to close. The trip lever 42 is adapted to work on a pivot 44 mounted in a slotted bracket so as to be adjustable, and in the normal position of the trip lever 42, its toe piece 45 holds up the drop lever 43, but the instant the safe speed limit is passed, it is liberated. \Vhenever the safety apparatus is brought into action, it requires some time to reinstate it. If it is desired to expedite the re-instating, the catch bar 1 may be cut with rack teeth along one side so that a vertical spindle with a pinion on the bottom end will gear therewith. Hence by turning the spindle by a handle, the catch bar 1 can be more easily drawn back again into position.

I declare that what I claim is 1. A device for preventing overwinding in mines comprising a supporting member, projections extending from said supporting member, means for rotating said member for raising and lowering said projections, rocking levers pivotally supported below said member, projections carried by said rocking levers, a second lever, means for connecting said first mentioned levers to said second lever whereby said second lever will be raised at one end as one of said first mentloned levers are rotated, a stopping gear, and means engaging said stopping a ing therefrom, rocking levers pivotally supported below saidcams, means carried by said levers for engagement with said cams whereby said levers will be rocked as said cams are brought into engagement with said last mentioned means, a second lever, means for connecting said first mentioned levers with said second lever whereby one end of said second lever will be raised as one of said first mentioned levers is swung, a catch bar, a brake mechan sm, said catch bar adapted to release said brake mechanism, said second lever engaging said catch bar for normally holding the same in engagement with said brake mechanism, and said catch bar adapted to be drawn out of engagement with said brake mechanism as said second lever is raised.

3. A device for preventing overwinding in mines comprising an oscillating shaft, laterally extending beaked cams carried thereby, rocking levers pivotally supported below said oscillating shaft, treadle members supported by said rocking levers adapted to be engaged by said cams whereby said levers will be swung in engagement with said treadle members, a second lever, means for connecting said first mentioned levers to said second lever, a slidably mounted catch bar, means for normally drawin the same inwardly, a brake mechanism, sai catch bar adapted to engage said brake mechanism for holding the same in an inoperative pcsition, and said second lever adapted toengage said catch bar for normally holding the same in a retracted position whereby said catch bar will engage said brake mechanism.

4. A device of the class described comprising a support, an oscillating shaft carried thereby, beaked cams supported upon said shaft and capable of having a limited yieldable downward swing, rocking levers supported adjacent said shaft, treadle members adjustably mounted upon said rocking levers adapted to be engaged by said beaked cams, asecond lever pivotally mounted adjacent said first mentioned levers, means for connecting said first mentioned levers to said second lever whereby said second lever will be elevated as one of said first mentioned levers are swung, a brake mechanism, means for holding said brake mechanism in an inoperative position, said second lever engaging said means for holding said last mentioned means in a set position and adapted to be released from said last mentioned means for allowing the same to be drawn out of engagement with said brake mechanism.

5. A device of the class described comprising beaked cams, means for turning said beaked cams, a pair of treadle members cooperating with said cams, a brake mechanism, means for cooperating with said treadle members for releasing said brake mechanism, a governor, and means cooperating with said governor and beaked cams for swinging the same whereby said beaked cams may be brought into engagement with said treadle members prior to a predetermined time.

6. A device for preventing overwinding in mines comprising a supporting shaft, beaked cams carried thereby, treadle members cooperating with said beaked cams and adapted to be engaged thereby at a predetermined time, a brake mechanism, means cooperating with said brake mechanism and treadle members for releasing said brake mechanism as said beaked cams engage said treadle members, a governor, and means cooperating with said governor and beaked cams for independently swinging the same relative to said support for causing said beaked cams to engage said treadle members prior to a predetermined time.

7. A device of the class described com prising a support, beaked cams carried thereby, said cams capable of having a limited downward yieldable swing, treadle members supported adjacent said cams and adapted to be engaged thereby, a brake mechanism, said treadle members adapted to release said brake mechanism as said Copies 01' thil patent may be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing the beaked cams engage said treadle members, a governor, a governor supporting shaft, a sleeve carried by said shaft, said sleevesupporting said beaked cams, means carried by said sleeve for swinging said cams as said sleeve is moved laterally whereby said cams will be caused to engage said: treadle members prior to a predetermined time.

8. A device for preventing overwinding in mines or the like, consisting. of a rotary shaft, beaked cams mounted upon said shaft, a governor, means controlled from said governor for angularly displacing said cams relatively to said shaft whenever the speed is excessive, a pinion upon said shaft, a rack engaging with said pinion, fingers upon said rack, a screwed shaft driven by the movement of the cage, a nut upon said screwed shaft adapted to engage one of said fingers toward the end of a wind, a pair of treadle members movable in one direction, pivoted levers carrying said treadle members, a second pair of treadle members on said pivoted levers adapted to come into contact with said beaked cams should aiwind be restarted in the wrong direction, a stopping gear adapted to be operated: by the cage and means connected to said levers for operating said stopping gear whenever the beaked cams come into contact with said first mentioned treadles.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name this, 7th day of December 1912, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM HENRY ASHTON.

Witnesses:

WM. TIERGE, I-I'. l/VATsoN.

Commiuloner of Pntentm Washington, D. 0. 

